“Goodbye, blue heron. Goodbye, green fly. Goodbye, goodbye.”

Following up the extremely popular Merriweather Post Pavilion with a live album of old material was a crazy move. Instead of releasing a companion EP to Merriweather, as they had done with their previous three albums, they chose to release a vinyl-only live triple album (in fairness, they would release Fall Be Kind later in the year).

Encapsulating years worth of live performances, the album offers a view of the older, rawer, noisier era of the band, before the allure of pop music and popularity in general pulled them in the direction of that led to MPP. Recalling the horror film influence of their early days, some of these songs come across as particularly fitting for 1970s horror soundtracks. The tracklist is a mix of songs from different studio albums, some non-album cuts, and a track from Panda Bear’s Young Prayer.

It’s more organic and freeform than their studio material from this era (late 2000s), feeling more akin to the sounds of Hollinndagain and Here Comes the Indian. The recording quality is pretty rough, with some of the muddied textures reminding me of Califone’s unique rough-hewn aesthetic. If you dislike the early era, this is going to be unlistenable. I’m so-so on the early stuff, so I found a few small portions that I liked, but I’ll probably just return to the studio albums if I feel the need to hear these songs again. Plus, it’s a vinyl-only set that I listened to online, and I’m not about to plop down the few hundred dollars required to score a copy on Ebay.

Favorite Tracks: Pumpkin’s Funeral; De Soto De Son; Who Could Win A Rabbit.